After a summer of baggage tragedy and confusion in Europe and lesser delays in the U.S., it should be no surprise to find people adjusting their travel plans to compensate, most often by either choosing not to check bags, or packing emergency supplies in their carry-ons.
Taking only U.S. figures into account for the moment, U.S. regulators reported over 1.9 bags mishandled last year by U.S. carriers, after several years of decline. Most experts believe it's the result of the same factors that have hammered Europe's airports: rapid recovery of air traffic volume matched up with staff shortages remaining from the height of the pandemic.
TripIt, a travel planning company that surveyed 1,700 passengers in September found that 60% say they experienced some sort of disruption in this year's summer travel, and that one of six in that group specified lost or delayed luggage.
In response to a question that asked whether they have "changed their behavior when it comes to preparing for a trip," 93% answered yes. Among the most common changes were not checking bags (41%) and using luggage trackers such as AirTags (23%). Many also indicated they are shifting critical items including medications and extra clothing from checked bags to carrry-on.
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